Airport transfer shuttle from resort to airport - avoiding sitting at the airport

Does anyone else think that resort airport shuttles require you to leave the resort way too early to get to the airport. Any advice on how to get around this without taking a private car? Would it be a bad idea to tell the hotel that we're on a flight that is half and hour or 45 minutes later than our actual flight time?

In my past experiences with hotel arranged shuttles, I've arrived at the airport very far ahead of time and then I'm stuck sitting in the airport for hours. Especially for flights in the morning, I would prefer to sleep in and then only arrive at the airport 1.5 hours ahead.

It really depends on how busy the airport is as to how much time you may need. We get passes to the VIP lounge so we like to get there with enough time to enjoy it. We also book afternoon flights so we don't have to leave too early.

If you are flying international, you need to be at the airport 2-3 hours prior to departure. You need to be checked in by that time. Time goes quickly at the airport. We usually have a lunch, then pick up some rum as it's cheaper at the airport.

We've been to the airport way too early, and also seen it extremely crowded/long lines. I don't mind getting there early, shopping, eating a $26 hot dog (ok that's JA money ) and relaxing. We also take later flights so don't have to get up at the crack of dawn.

You will leave the resort 4 hours prior to your flight, but you are required to be at the airport 3 hours prior to your departure. The resort does not know exactly what the traffic will be like and they don't want to be responsible for you missing your flight. Plus, they do not know how busy the airport will be. I've stood in line for over an hour just to check my luggage and then another 30 minutes to go through security. I ended up with hardly anytime to grab a bite to eat. I've also breezed through check-in and security with time to spare. There is just no way of knowing until you arrive and see what is going on. Consequently, you do leave 4 hours before your flight. Also, when you check in with the resort, you give them your flight number, not the time the flight leaves. They verify that the day before you are to fly out.

Check in lines can be quite long at the MBJ airport - luckily I have status so we can skip the long lines but I have heard people say it can take close to an hour to get through. I have in the past gotten a later shuttle but they made me sign something that said they weren't responsible if we missed our flight.

I understand the resort will allow you to be dropped off later, but you have to sign a Waiver to do this (saying they're not responsible if you miss your flight)

Alternatively, you might want to look into the Club MoBay. It's $30/ea for the VIP departure lounge and it includes food, drink, WiFi and even has shower facilities... perhaps you could sleep a little later and skip the shower until you get there. At a minimum, though- it sounds like it's a nicer wait than the regular airport departure lounge.

The resort is following airline guidelines. They also are trying to get more than one flight time group of people to the airport as efficiently as possible. I can only imagine the grief they would get if someone didn't get cleared and on their flight on time.

Club MoBay is definitely worth the money for departure. The quiet lounge and food/drinks are SO worth it. It does suck leaving the resort when you know your flight isn't for 4 hours, but Club MoBay eased that pain enough to be tolerable.